Release-rigging for car-couplings.



PATENTED AUG. 7, 71906;

[NVE/VTORF /M 5mg I J. E. ULSH.

RELEASE RIGGIN'G FOR GAR COUPLINGS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB 23, 1906 Q WITNESSES:

UNITED STATES-' PATENT oFFIoE- JOSEPH E. U LSl-I, OF ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA, AS SIGNOR OF ONE-HALF I TO QAMERON JOHNSTON, OF ALTOONA. PENNSYLVANIA.

RELEASE-RIGGING FOR CAR-COUPLINGS- Specification of Letters Patent.

"Patented. Aug. 7, 1906.

Application filed February 23, 1906. Serial No, 302,464-

To all? whom it may concern:

Be 1t known that I, JOSEPH E. ULsH, a citi zen of the United States, residing at Altoona,

readily cut cars away from one another, thus facilitating very. greatly the despatch of heavy traflic in c assification yards. This feature is specially noticeable when the shifting of cars is performed at night, the present arrangement enabling the trainmen to hold to the car with one hand, signal the engineman, and at the same timerelease the locking-pin in the coupler With his foot.

Another object sought by the present invention is to provide means by which trainmen when standing upon the step'of one car can readily release the coupler on the next car with the foot,'while at the same time keep their position on the car that they are riding upon.

Another object is to provide means by which the release-rod is allowed to adjust itself to the various positions of the car-coup- With these and many other objects that will be brought out as the nature of the inparts shown in vention is better understood the same consists of the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of arts, as herein fully pointed out, illustrate and claimed.

It should be remembered that this invention is susceptible to somestructural modification without departing from the scope of the invention; but a preferable embodiment is shown in the-accompanying drawings, in which j Figure 1 is a plan view-of a car end sill, together with the usual form of coupler, with my release mechanism shown in position. Fig. 2 is a frontelevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the Fig. 2. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are detail views showing the supporting-brackets for the release-rod. .1

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents the usual form of coupler-head, consisting of a knuckle 2, the knuckle-pin 3, the unlockingpin 4, and the shank of the coupler 15. The

release-rod 5 is preferably made in one piece, one end being attached directly to the coup-.

ler-unlocking pin, from whence it is continued toward the right side of the car in the same plane with the eye of the unlockingpin until the outside of the coupler is reached, from whence it is made to assume positions in a plurality of planes each differing from the other in position and inclination. The

supports 10 and 11 beneath the end sill are made for the special purpose of allowing for the various movements ofthe coupler. At the end of the end sill 16 and beneath the endsillpoling-casting the release-rod 5 assumes positions in a plurality of planes, terminating with the end 7 slightly inclined and directed outward from the car. This slight inclination of the end of the rod brings it-Within easy reach of the step 6, secured to the under face of the poling-casting 8. The trainmen when operating this device will stand upon the step 6, hold to the side of the car 9 with one hand, signal with the other hand, and with his foot u on the end 7 with a slight ressure will re ease the coupler-knuckle, alowing the cars to be separated. This combination of movements greatly facilitates the despatch of business in classification yards.

The end of the release-rod attached tothe coupler-unlocking pin is preferably made with a shoulder terminating with a hook of a quarter-turn, the hook, together with the shoulder, keeping the end of the rod connected to the unlocking-pin of the coupler.

The release-rod support 10 is of a U--shaped piece, with the outer end 14 adapted to be secured to the under side of the end sill 16, while the inner end 12 is secured on the top of theinner flange of the sill, the width of the support being such as to allow free movement of the coupler. The support 11 is a U- shaped piece, preferably of wrought-iron, and

secured to the under side of the end sill ofthe It will be noticed that any movement forward of the operating end7 of the rod results in lifting the unlocking-pin 4 of the coupler. The body of the release-rod 5 being placed beneath the end sill and the operating end of the rod beneath the push-pole casting necessarily obviates any danger of injured hands in'the release of the couplers or an danger from the rod interfering with the po mg of cars.

' A slight modification of the inner rod-support is shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings and consists in forming said support of a U- shaped strip 10, having its outer leg exten ing upward along and secured to the front face of the end sill 16 and provided with an inner le or arm portion 21, turned inward toward t e outer leg and adapted to rest upon and to be secured to the top face of the lower flange of the said sill 16. The distance between the rod-supporting side of the support 10 and the lower part of the flange of t e end sill is greater than the diameter of therelease-rod.

I claim- 1 1. ,The combination of a locking-pin for couplers, an integral release-rod for lifting the locking-pin, supported beneath the end sill and havuig means to adjust itself to the various movements of the coupler.

2. In a cou ler release-riggin the combination of a re ease-rod attache directly to the coupler-locking pin above the coupler, the body of the rod suspended beneath the end .sill, the operating end of the rod adapted 100 be movedforward when releasing the coupers.

3. In a coupler release-ri ging, an inte al release-rod attached direct y to the coup erlocking pin on the upper face of the coupler,

a wide U-shaped support with its ends turned inward, one end being adapted to be secured to the bottom of the sill and the other end being turned-inward on a higher lane, the difference between the lanes of t e two inturned legs being the t ickness of the lower 7 flange of the sill.

4. In a coupler release-rigging, the combination of an integral release-rod, one end b.e ing attached directly to the unlocking-pin of the coupler, said release-rod extending toward the right side of the car in a plane parallel to the plane of the eye of the unlockingpin of the coupler, until the outside face of the coupler is reached from whence the rod is made to assume positions in a plurality of different inclined planes, the latter of the inclined planes, in which a part of the rod lies,.

JOSEPH E. ULSH.

-Witnesses:

[FRED A. WmTTAKER.

NORMAN E, GEE. 

